Various Miracles by Carol Shields

Author:Carol Shields [Shields, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Canada, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780679307785
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Published: 1985-01-02T04:00:00+00:00

After that we lose track of the number of houses. The day bends and blurs; square footage, zoning regulations, mortgage schedules, double-car garages, cedar-siding only two years old—was that the place near that little park? No, that was the one on that little crescent off Arbutus. Remember? The one without the basement.

Darkness is falling as Marge Little drives us back to our hotel. We are passing hundreds—it seems like thousands—of houses, and we see lamps being turned on, curtains being closed. Friendly smoke rises from substantial chimneys. Here and there, where the curtains are left open, we can see people sitting down to dinner. Passing one house I see a woman in a window, leaning over with a match in her hand, lighting a pair of candles. Ivy sees it too, and I’m sure she’s feeling as I am, a little resentful that everyone but us seems to have a roof overhead.

“Tomorrow for sure,” Marge calls cheerily. (Tomorrow is our last day. Both of us have to be home on Monday.)

“I suppose we could always rent for a year.” Ivy says this with low enthusiasm.

“Or,” I say, “we could make another trip in a month or so. Maybe there’ll be more on the market.”

“Isn’t it funny? The first house we saw, remember? In a way, it was the most promising place we’ve seen.”

“The one with the view from the dining room? With the broken light in the bathroom?”

“It might not look bad with a new fixture. Or even a skylight.”

“Wasn’t that a divorce house?” I ask Ivy.

“Yes,” she shrugs, “but maybe that’s just what we’ll just have to settle for.”

“It was listed at a good price.”

“I live in a divorce house,” Marge Little says, pulling in front of our hotel. “It’s been a divorce house for a whole year now.”

“Oh, Marge,” Ivy says. “I didn’t mean—” she stops. “Forgive me.”

“And it’s not so bad. Sometimes it’s darned cheerful.”

“I just—” Ivy takes a breath, “I just wanted a lucky house. Maybe there’s no such thing—”

“Are you interested in taking another look at the first house? I might be able to get you an appointment this evening. That is, if you think you can stand one more appointment today.”

“Absolutely,” we say together.

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